Sustainable construction
by Sandy Halliday, Oxford, Butterworth–Heinemann, 2007, 408 pp., £29.99, Pb. ISBN 13: 978075066394
This is an excellent contribution for those in search of sustainable solutions in the construction field, by an author with outstanding credentials. Given that the construction industry is facing an involuntary pause, with consequences for all involved, and that evidence of climate change is now beginning to put the matter beyond debate – it is very timely to produce a volume that seeks to define the issues and potential solutions to the challenges we all face. The book is well presented and will be welcomed by those interested in sustainable construction.
It is a huge challenge attempting to cover all the issues involved in sustainable construction and their interrelationships, but the field is properly spanned with engineering rigour. All areas are summarised succinctly and start with the drivers of sustainability followed by a brief history of international action and progress to date. Thereafter a summary of policy and legislation is given and then on to cost issues.
Appraisal tools and techniques are dealt with well, together with a summary of BREEAM and other Critical path and Targeting tools. Material selection is reviewed and the concepts of embodied energy are explained.
Case studies are presented throughout the volume, but the low impact construction chapter makes for an intriguing and interesting read and good photography adds impact.
The author is clearly comfortable and authoritative in the discussions on heating, electrical installations and lighting and much good information is imparted in these areas. Renewable technology is a developing area and this section of the book touches on all the main areas, but tends towards the general rather than the specific. The section dealing with Water and Sewage management includes a piece on composting toilets, which may well be of interest to all who live in a rural location, and while more detail would have been appreciated – this may not be the answer to the maiden's prayer in an urban situation.
The book concludes with chapters on the construction process and urban ecology, each of which could probably have filled a handbook in its own right.
One disadvantage with the approach taken is that the reader is frequently left with a desire for more information on the various cases cited. This may perchance provide the ideal opportunity to publish further detailed volumes covering each separate topic area at a later date.
The book is beautifully illustrated with examples, many of which are taken from the Gaia group practice, for which Ms Halliday is the one of the principals, and readers will find themselves drawn through the volume with an interest in reading the next section in search of further wisdom.
The bibliography of each chapter allows for further reading and study, nevertheless, some of the case studies lacked quantitative analysis, possibly due to lack of space, and in this field it is much easier to persuade clients to adopt sustainable solutions, if the options available are quantified.
A significant number of the most attractive examples are set in rural landscapes and while a sustainable solution is easy to contemplate here – the real challenge is to adopt such measures for urban environments with higher building densities. There are also one or two typographical errors, which tend to interrupt the flow of the text – but this is good challenge for concentration and is not unusual in these times of spell‐check dominance.
The book should appeal to all who are involved in the built environment and want a comprehensive handbook reminding them of the totality of issues faced by everybody involved in developments. Students will also value the range covered and those new to the field should be able to visualise the issues involved clearly.
In conclusion, this is an excellent volume, which covers a very wide field, although readers may need to pursue further reading to get to grips with detailed sustainable construction solutions.
Paul Murray and Mike Warner
Environmental Building Group
University of Plymouth
Plymouth, UK
© 2009 Paul Murray and Mike Warner